Indian River Sweet Orange Bread

Indian River Sweet Orange Bread
Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.), pg. 134.

This is a delicately flavored orange bread that can be eaten as is or it can be toasted and served with butter, cream cheese or honey butter. My oranges didn't make quite enough juice that the recipe called for so the flavor was not as intense as I like it. You have the option of adding raisins or nuts (or both). I added raisins to one of the loaves and left the other one plain. 

I have always loved the combination of chocolate and orange and wondered afterward if adding chocolate chips might be good. I may try that the next time.

I froze one of the loaves for later. When I do serve it, I'm going to whip up a orange glaze to go over it.

If you like this, you might also be interested in the Texan Orange Cake and the Spanish Orange Cake.

4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 TBS. plus 1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3 large oranges (to yield 1 1/3 cups juice)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup water
3 TBS. butter
3 eggs, slightly beaten
Optional: Walnuts or pecans and/or currants or raisins

Adjust oven rack to 1/3 from the bottom. Preheat oven to 350. Butter (or spray) 2 loaf pans, 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches and coat with fine, dry bread crumbs.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Zest the oranges and squeeze the juice (you need 1 1/3 cups of juice). Set aside.

Place the orange zest, sugar and water into a large saucepan. Stir over high heat until the sugar is dissolved and it comes to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and boil for 5 minutes.

 

Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter. Stir until the butter has melted.

Add the orange juice and the eggs and stir.

Pour the orange juice mixture over the dry ingredients.

Stir until the dry ingredients are moistened.*

Pour the batter evenly into the 2 pans and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour (until
cake tester comes out dry).

Cool in the pans for about 10 minutes, then remove the cakes to a cooling rack to cool completely.

* 1/2 cup of nuts or raisins may be added to the batter if desired. You can always have one cake with raisin and the other with nuts or whatever you prefer.

Banana Nut Cake

Banana Nut Cake
Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.), pg. 100.

It has been about 3 weeks since my last post and I've been itching to get baking. After 20 years, we replaced all of our kitchen appliances and this is the first Maida recipe I have made in our new oven. I've talked in detail in the past about Maida's recipes getting done much quicker than the time she notes in her recipes. I was anxious to see if this new oven was any different. Well, this recipe indicates at least 1 hour and the cake was done for me in about 52 minutes. So, I will continue to take her baking times with a grain of salt and set my timer 10-15 minutes ahead of the time she instructs.  I don't know - maybe ovens are just hotter now than they were in the 70s when she wrote her books.

We had some overly ripe bananas so I decided to make the Banana Cut Cake. It tastes just like banana bread that is made in loaves. It is simple to make and very delicious.

2 cups (7 oz.) pecan halves or large pieces
2 1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3 large or 4 small bananas (to make 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups mashed)
1/4 lb. (1 stick) butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/4 cup buttermilk

Adjust oven rack 1/3 from the bottom. Preheat to 375. Butter a 9 x 3 1/2 tube pan and dust it lightly with fine, dry bread crumbs.

Toss the nuts with 1 TBS. of the flour to coat them thoroughly. Set aside. Sift remainder of the flour with baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Beat the bananas on low speed to mash. Set aside.

 

In a separate bowl but with the same beaters, cream the butter and add the vanilla and the sugar.

Add the eggs and beat for 1-2 minutes.

On lowest speed, add half of the dry ingredients...

alternating with the milk. Add the remaining dry ingredients.

Stir in the bananas and the nuts.

Turn the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 1 hour to 1 1/4 hours or until tester comes out dry (start checking after 50 minutes).

Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Cookies

Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Cookies
Source: Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies (Random House, 1995 ed.), pg. 99.

These are big, soft, moist cookies loaded with walnuts, raisins and chocolate chips. I dare you to just eat one!

1 1/2 cups raisins
1 1/2 cups walnuts, broken into small pieces
2 cups sifted unbleached flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

Steam the raisins in a vegetable steamer or strainer over shallow hot water. Let the water boil for a few minutes until the raisins are moist. Remove the raisins and place them on a sheet of foil to air out.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Beat the butter until softened. Add the vanilla.

 
 

Add the sugar and beat well.

 

Add the eggs...

Add the sour cream.

On low speed, add the sifted dry ingredients.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the chocolate chips...

the raisins...

and the nuts.

Place large heaping scoops of the dough onto the lined cookie sheets (about 2 inches apart). Bake for 13-15 minutes, reversing the sheets halfway through baking. If you are using only one cookie sheet, use the upper rack.

The cookies are done when barely golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your fingertip.

The cookies can be wrapped by placing 2 together, bottom to bottom.

Pinwheels

Pinwheels
Source: Maida Heatter's Cookies (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.), pg. 184.

These cookies are fun to make but you may find them a bit time consuming. They look extraordinary and you will be proud of yourself when they come out of the oven. I still haven't mastered the art of rolling up a perfectly "round" roll - mine always end up a bit flattened. This will affect the appearance so try to make the dough roll as round as you can. And if you have any tips on doing this, let me know!

The cookies are good and actually better after a day or so. I found the almond, pecan and coffee flavors more noticeable than the chocolate, which I could not detect. But now that I think about it, I'm sure the whole purpose of the chocolate is to provide the darker colored dough.

I used powdered expresso instead of instant coffee. I don't believe it will make much of a difference.

Although the recipe says that it makes 56 cookies, I did not have this many (I probably cut the slices too thick). 

On a totally different note (and rant) - has anyone noticed that Baker's chocolate squares now come in 4 oz. packages instead of 8? And the price is not that much lower? Arrgghh!

1 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 oz. (1 square) unsweetened chocolate
4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. powdered instant coffee
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1/3 cup pecans, finely chopped

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. Melt the chocolate in the top of a small double boiler. Set aside to cool.

Cream the butter in a mixer bowl and add the vanilla and the sugar. Mix well.

 

Add the egg and beat well.

On low speed, add the sifted dry ingredients, scraping the bowl as necessary.

Divide the dough into 2 bowls.

To one half of the dough, add the melted chocolate and the coffee powder. Mix thoroughly and set aside.

To the other half of the dough, add the chopped nuts and the almond extract.

Tear off 4 pieces of wax paper, each about 17 inches long. On one piece, place one of the doughs.

Cover with another piece of wax paper and flatten it with your hands.

Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into an oblong shape about 14x9 inches.

When the dough is the correct size, remove the paper and cut away the excess dough and use it to neaten up the edges. Be careful not to have the edges thinner than the center or air spaces will occur.

Now do the same thing with the other piece of dough.

Place the 2 doughs on a sheet pan and let them chill in the freezer. Remove after chilled and place one of the doughs in front of you. Carefully place the second dough over the first and remove the top piece of wax paper.

Use the bottom piece of wax paper to roll the dough in a jelly-roll fashion. Wrap the rolled dough in wax paper and put it in the freezer to chill until it is very firm.

Preheat the oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment or foil. Unwrap the chilled dough and slice it with a sharp knife into 1/4 inch slices. Place the slices 1 inch apart on the lined pans.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until the cookies are slightly colored around the edges. Do not overbake. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Devil's Food Chocolate Ice Cream

Devil's Food Chocolate Ice Cream
Source: Maida Heatter's Cakes (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed.), pg. 312.

Mmmmm, this is sinfully delicious! Extremely creamy and decadent, it is hard to stay out of it. Chocolate ice cream is one of my favorite things in the world and Maida Heatter says it is her favorite dessert.

I blundered and deleted my "how-to" photos that I usually include. However, this is very easy and not difficult to make.

11 1/2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
1 cup milk
3/8 cup honey
7 egg yolks
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 cups heavy cream

Break up the chocolate and place it in a heavy saucepan along with the milk and honey. On moderate heat, scrape the bottom of the pan with a rubber spatula until the mixture has melted. Whisk until smooth.

Beat the egg yolks with an electric mixer. Gradually add the sugar and beat until it becomes pale in color. Slowly add the warm chocolate mixture on low speed. The mixture will be thick.

Transfer the mixture to a heavy saucepan and cook over low heat, scraping the bottom and sides constantly. Use a candy thermometer and when the mixture reaches 140 degrees, gradually whisk in the cream. Stir occasionally until smooth. Chill in the refrigerator until very cold and then freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions.